Although The Last Jedi has continued to perform well at the US box office, the film collapsed in China and has already been pulled from Chinese theaters. Star Wars has never had a strong foothold in China, the world’s second largest film market, but an already disappointing opening weekend followed by a disastrous second weekend drop of 92% sealed the film’s fate in China. To put things in perspective, The Last Jedi will finish outside of the top 50 in China and behind box office bomb Geostorm. The Hollywood Reporter did a great job of examining the continued failure of Star Wars in China. The problem stems from the well known fact that the original films never received a wide release in China. While franchises such as Fast and Furious focus on ease of access and mindless action, Star Wars films are often driven by nostalgia for and references to the original films. Jimmy Wu, who owns one of the largest theater chains in China, bluntly told The Hollywood Reporter, “Star Wars has no legacy here.” It is an interesting situation, and one that probably has some Disney executives concerned. Check out the full story at The Hollywood Reporter!
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